The Headless Knight of Sleepy Trees
Draft_2
By: Chase L. Currie
(Tales of The Bat)
Seathan always believes himself to be ready for anything. He had seen a few battles here and there. His training as a Bard should have made him ready for anything because the idea of a Bard being able to fight on the road just seem smart. Seathan had been a few tavern fights and one or two real battles, but he was not sure why he fell over his own feet. It was not his best moment.
He backed up to the wall wishing he could go back in time to catch himself before hitting the ground. It wasn’t every day he saw a Knight without a head. A Headless Knight who was walking toward him ready to kill him, remove his head and take it for himself. Was this Headless Knight looking for his old head? If so why did he think it was Seathan?
It didn’t matter too much because Seathan was about to meet his end. He watched the old sword from the Knight lift into the air, it was about to be all over.
The room lite up like someone had tossed a fire into the darkness or as if the candle had to jumped back in fear about watching Seathan lose his head. The fire became brighter, and the Headless Knight turn to face it.
He stepped back trying to shield the place where his head should have been, but there was nothing other than air.
Seathan glanced over at the light seeing the flaming sword resting in the paws of the Bat. More of the story about the hero the Bat was true Seathan come to realize. The Headless Knight ran for the door pushing his way through it like it wasn’t there. He jumped on the back of a black buck with burning red eyes and raced off into the night.
The sword the Bat willed was the sword of Death and the ghostly monster must have feared it because he ran away as if his dark tail was on fire. Seathan watched the monster faded into the thick fog and then slowly rose to his feet. He sighed shaking his head as the light behind him died.
“Good to see you, still have your head,” the Bat joked.
“Thanks to you,” Seathan said facing him.
He shrugged as if it was nothing to him. “Not sure I can save you next time from telling a bad story.”
“I doubted he came here over my storytelling,” Seathan remarked walking over to the journal and picking it up. He flipped to the last page and pawed it over to the Bat. He read it quickly shutting the book.
“This is not good,” the Bat said.
“I think your theory about Danial not being dead maybe true,” Seathan said.
“It is,” the Bat told him. “I asked around to find out that Danial did have magical markings. They were bright blue and on his chest.”
“The body does not have any?”
“Not at all,” the Bat said.
“What about the Lord?”
“He did kill Danial’s mother,” the Bat said staying in the shadows of the room, “because she was helping a witch but was not the witch herself.”
“The witch and his mother were trying to kill the Lord because of the law?” Seathan asked knowing he was right and the Bat simply nodded. He stared down at the leather book and said, “And his father was not the wiser about it.”
“Everyone tried to tell him,” the Bat said, “but in his grief, he would not listen and pay for it.”
“So, the question is where Danial?” Seathan asked turning back to face the fog.
“I might have an idea about where he is hiding,” the Bat stepping beside him and Seathan could feel the grin under his helmet.
They walked a few hours outside of the town with Seathan not sure where they were going, but he followed his new friend. He had to rather trust him or not, and as of right, he has given him no reason not to trust him. They walked deep into the dark woods.
“Where are we going?” Seathan asked again.
“You really do kill all the fun in this,” The Bat said. “But there is an old fort out in the woods. It was destroyed during the war, but I have a feeling our dead friends are there.”
“Why?” Seathan asked.
“Because the squirrels around town believe it to be haunted.”
After what Seathan saw tonight he believed the squirrels of the old town. He wasn’t sure if the fort was haunted by his foes or new ones, but either way, he was going to find out. There was no question about it.
They stopped a little way from the fort and climbed into the trees to scout it out, but the fort was dark from where they sat. The fort hung in the forest like the dead in a graveyard. Death walked its hall and there something in the air around it like ghouls waiting to attack. There was no choice but to get closer and they slowly made their way to the old wooden fort made from some of the thorn trees and mud walls.
Seathan saw the gates to the fort were open, well mostly open. One of them has been knocked down by the Arcane Ants. Scars were all over the walls of the battle which was once held here. The other side of the gate was missing altogether so coming and going would be easy for anyone.
“I’ll meet you on the other side,” The Bat said. “You go through the gate.”
“Wait,” Seathan went to protest, but the Bat was already gone. “Great,” he sighed pulling his daggers free. He wasn’t ready to face the Headless Knight again. He didn’t think he could hurt something that was already dead, but he would try his best.
He made his way over the gate into the tiny courtyard of the fort seeing sword placed in the ground. The old swords were markers of all the Knights who died in this place while one hole was dug up and the sword was missing. He guessed Danial’s father must have been placed here after his death. It would be a fitting place to put a fallen Knight.
He made his way to the main building of the fort trying his best to keep an eye on the shadows, but it was too dark for him to see much of anything. He kept looking behind him but there seem to be nothing there. He could feel eyes watching, and he hoped it was his friend the hero of legend.
He made it to the old wooden door beginning to push against it when something priced his shoulder and pinning him to the wood. He yelped without thinking pulling away from the door leaving a little blood dripping from the arrowhead coming through his body. He didn’t hear the whistling from the first arrow, but he heard it from the second and third. He dodges in time to see the arrows nail into the door. He ducked in pain hiding under some of the fallen wood.
“I’m not sure how you scared the Headless Knight away,” Danial’s voice yelled from the blackness. “But I guess it doesn’t matter. After I kill you, I’ll finish this by collecting the Lord’s head.”
Seathan broke the arrow keeping it in him to stop the flow of blood. If he pulled it out, he would bleed to death. He didn’t say a word for a moment guessing the one bad thing about having a Headless Knight was they couldn’t talk to anyone.
“You are doing this for revenge?” Seathan yelled at him waiting for the Bat to show up. He sure was taking his time.
“They killed my mother,” Danial screamed at him, “and then took my father from me.”
“Your father got himself killed,” Seathan said ducking from another arrow flying overhead.
“You don’t know what you are talking about,” he yelled back. “They killed my mother because they called her a witch.”
“She was helping one.”
“She was helping a witch who was healing squirrels,” he shouted with the arrows growing closer. He was moving in for the kill and Seathan was in too much pain to fight him.
“Magic was still against the law,” Seathan said.
“They took my life from me,” Danial hissed. “I’m going to take their lives. I have taken all of them but the Lord. He is next.”
Seathan looked up to see an arrowhead staring down at him.
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